Ben's Refurbished Mitsubishi Miev

[Ryland]

Do you own a dehumidifier?
From what I can tell, the battery box should be sealed and is air cooled, at least on the Nissan Leaf that means it has a fan inside to move air around, but I would think it would be water tight.
I'd get a service manual for it to start with, test fuses, test pack voltage, see if it has an OBDII port... I think it does and see if there are any codes.

[user removed]

First, determine the water level. Every component that was under water needs to be disassembled and cleaned thoroughly before being energized. I have fixed water damaged cars over my career and have developed processes that have proven to be successful for over a decade after the damage occured.

Separate the battery from the rest of the vehicle and see if it can be charged and will hold a charge, but only after a thorough check out for corrosion damage. If possible determine where the car was located when it was damaged. It will help greatly if it was NOT salt water.

The cars sit for a while in the salvage yards before sale, sometime months up to close to a year depending on the salvage process.

Sadly Raleigh is 3.5 hours from me (definitely not near any salt water). I could tow it with my Ranger and a tow dolly. I guess it would have to be towed with the rear wheels off the gorund but the forum specific to that car would be your best source of information.

regards
Mech

[user removed]

If you have ever disassembled a car that had been submerged, you would know immediately that any attempt at "drying it out" is a waste of time. Printed circuit boards will show corrosion very quickly and no amount of drying will repair the effects of corrosion.

Every electrical connection needs to be thoroughly cleaned before anything is energized. The systems you are dealing with were never designed to be submerged and running power through them when they have any significant corrosion damage could cause serious problems, like an air bag blowing up in your face!

Not trying to be a bubble burster Ben, you have one chance to do it right. Figure out exactly where the water level was. It may have not even been into the passenger compartment. If not it could be a fairly easy fix. I considered it when I was bidding on a Prius C and the tech at the Toyota dealer told me all the air bag contols and modules were under the front seats. Not sure if he was right or not, but the thought of having to replace all of them kept my bid lower.

if you decide to come to Raleigh to look at the car, I would be glad to meet you somewhere and go with you to look at it.

regards
Mech

[basjoos]

Another technique for removing water from flooded electronics is to flush it with plenty of isopropanol followed by several hours of a slow flow of dry nitrogen gas through the case. Any water on the boards is absorbed into the isopropanol and is flushed out with it, then the nitrogen gas evaporates any isopropanol left on the boards.

[user removed]

I have seen salt water corrode a relay to the point where it actually pushed the metal cover off the relay. It was a 1982 Mercedes that rolled into the Atlantic Ocean. The relay was what controlled the power seats. It was behind the drivers kick panel about ankle high. It was the only reason for the owner to bring the vehicle back after an $8300 repair bill. The relay failed a month after we gave the car to the customer at the Benz dealership I woked for in the Florida Keys. The owner decided she wanted the car repaired and she had enough money to own a house in Florida right on the Ocean.

regards
Mech

[Smurf]

So... much... envy!

Subscribed, just so that in the future if something is "too good to be true", I hope to have something to counteract that argument.

[bennelson]

Yesterday, I went to the credit union and paid the mortgage and paid the wire transfer for the car.

And that's about all the money I have...

Still have to figure out how to get the car home. I've been getting bids from shipping companies. They have ranged from $600 at the absolute lowest price up to about $1200.

Shipping is from Dunn, NC to Oconomowoc, WI (53066)

[NeilBlanchard]

What would a rental towing cradle cost, plus the gas for the 4 days of driving?

[bennelson]

I did some price searching and digging.

The Mitsubishi iMiEV is a weird little car. It's rear-wheel drive with single gear reduction (same as a Tesla Roadster!) so that seems to rule out a tow-dolly, which is really only designed for front-wheel drive cars.

It's also just big enough that you need a real car trailer, instead of a more affordable plain flatbed cargo trailer.

After running the math on rental, distance, average gas price, etc. I really am better hiring somebody else. As much as I wanted a wacky road-trip adventure, it's just not worth it, and I can't afford to waste money right now.

I did find some pretty decent bids on shipping. The car being "Non-Op" is a disadvantage, but it being at a giant car auction place is a plus. They have the big loading dock and forklifts and ton's of truck drivers going there every day.

Some of the cost on shipping a car also depends on when you want it done. If you can give a BIG window of when it can leave, that makes it cheaper. The auction house needs the car gone one week after the sale, or they start charging $20 a day "storage fee".

I've got one company ready to go get the car for me, (no deposit needed until they find the driver) and another company that lets drivers bid directly. That has the potential to cut $100 to $150 off the bill, but only if there happens to be a truck in the right time and right place with an empty space on it.

Ah, the joys of shipping cars!

[user removed]

Tell them to be especially careful with a forklift, especially if the battery is under the car!

regards
Mech